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Newsstand: October 31, 2011
Eek! It's a scary day. Not just because it's Monday (which it is), but also because it's that special day when people put an "adult" twist on outfits more suitable for those who are prepubescent, your likelihood of developing diabetes is on the rise, and so are your chances of getting hit by a car because your costume is weather inappropriate and simply way too dark for this time of year. Happy Halloween! Also happening today: The Worst Person in the World makes his international debut, explosives found in a costume mecca, Halloween gets Occupied, and a look at the journey of Toronto's soon-to-be transplanted elephants.
Mayor Rob Ford made his first international appearance yesterday in Guadalajara, Mexico, receiving a flag on behalf of Ontario at the closing ceremony of the Pan American Games. After a last minute RSVP, Mayor Ford was there to accept the flag from Guadalajara’s mayor Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Diaz. In addition to his local counterpart, Mayor Ford rubbed elbows with Governor General David Johnston and other Canadian dignitaries and foreign officials. In case you were wondering—no, he didn’t speak on behalf of Toronto (cue sigh of relief).
Toronto Public Health is distributing “anti-overdose kits” in an attempt to reduce the approximately 100 overdose deaths recorded in the city each year. So, far the news has been positive, as the kits have already been credited with saving three lives. The kits contain injection syringes and two doses of naloxone (more commonly known as Narcan), which can immediately reverse the effects of a heroin or morphine overdose. Seventy-five kits have already been distributed.
One of the city’s largest party stores and the supplier of many of Toronto’s Halloween costumes had to close twice this weekend due to the discovery of explosives inside. Three suspicious devices were found over the weekend in the Amazing Party & Costume store, which means a major hit to the business on its busiest weekend of the year. But good news, last minute Halloween shoppers—the costume emporium will be open today and will be holding a (previously planned, not bomb-related) 50 per cent off sale.
Leaving the cozy confines of their yurts, Occupy Toronto will be paying the 1 per cent a visit today when they show up at the city’s banks to trick or treat. Well, technically they are actually going to pay the 99 per cent a visit since they will likely be interacting with tellers and security guards, but that’s neither here nor there. The group is urging participants to be “peaceful, respectful, and obey requests to leave when asked” as they cause a “creative and clever disruption.” However, the event doesn’t appear to be picking up much steam as only a handful of people have RSVPed as of this morning (or maybe people are just doing it Mayor-style and waiting until last minute to confirm their attendance).
Curious about how our elephants will get to California now that they’ve been told to pack their trunks (badum-CHING)? The National Post has prepared an infographic that takes you through two options for their 4,000+ kilometre journey. If you don’t have an elephant’s memory (really, it writes itself) and need a refresher about how the elephants got here in the first place, check out our piece on the elephants’ early days in the city.